pablo wrote:
> Further noteworthy stuff:
>
> Rossi's iron grip on top position.
>
> Dovizioso faster than Pedrosa *again*.
>
> Edwards predictably effective.
>
> Spies continues to impress.
>
> Melandri behind some of the greenhorns... it'll probably be his last
> year in MotoGP.
Here are all the day two times:
1 Valentino. Rossi, Fiat Yamaha: 2m 00.271s
2 Casey Stoner, Marlboro Ducati: 2m 00.512s
3 Nicky Hayden, Marlboro Ducati: 2m 00.703s
4 Colin Edwards, Yamaha Tech3: 2m 00.988s.
5. Ben Spies, Yamaha Tech3: 2m 01.014s
6 Loris Capirossi, Rizla Suzuki: 2m 01.320s.
7 Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 2m 01.439s
8 Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 2m 01.478s.
9 Hiro Aoyama, Interwetten Honda: 2m 01.692s.
10 Alvaro Bautista, Rizla Suzuki: 2m 01.732s.
11 Randy de Puniet, LRC Honda: 2m 01.980s.
12. Marco Melandri, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 2m 02.078s
13 Hector Barbera, Aspar MotoGP Team: 2m 02.080s
14. Mikka Kallio, Pramac Ducati: 2m 02.082s.
15 Aleix Espargaro, Pramac Ducati: 2m 02.367s.
16. Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 2m 03.689s
Fot Hayden it was a HUGE jump, and the closest he's ever been on the
Ducati to the front and to Stoner. Stoner apparently is under the
weather some and yet was closer to Rossi than at the last test. It's
interesting that on this day Rossi was followed by the entire
Aussie-American contingent, and that the top five also included four of
the five "big" guys, who weigh over 145 pounds.
Beyond that, we see the usual promising performance from the Suzukis at
a Sepang test, don't hold your breath. With Hayden's jump the factory
Ducatis have gapped the satellite guys by 1.3 seconds, and they're all
still at the back, just like last year. The Hondas are grouped very
closely, factory and satellite covered by 0.65 second, which supports
what Honda said, the bikes are all the same, only differing in the
electronics package. The problem is, they're just not fast enough, and
Pedrosa has to be VERY concerned to be 1.2 second off Rossi, never mind
not being faster than Dovi. In what is surely a make-or-break year for
him (and Puig, of course) at Honda, it's not starting out that well.
Melandri only improved very slightly on day 2, but he was only 0.05 off
Pedrosa on day 1 and the fastest Honda satellite, so I wouldn't read too
much into yesterday.
And then there's Simoncelli, who so far has shown no capability to ride
a MotoGP bike at all. Yesterday it was two laps and a big highside and
done for the day, after being slowest on day 1 by a massive 0.7 second
(the margin between 2nd-slowest de Puniet in 15th and Spies in 5th).
More than anything his confidence has to be getting hammered right now,
and that isn't going to help him get his head around this thing. And of
course he looks no less ridiculous dwarfing the RC212V than he did his
250 the last few years. Welcome to DaniLand, Marco.
I find this kind of amusing, given all the excitement that seemed to be
building around Simi during the 2nd half of the 2008 season, when he was
starting to be promoted as the eventual next challenger to Rossi, or
even the next Rossi. You know, at the same time Spies was putting in
some pretty impressive wildcard rides in MotoGP, openly auditioning for
a ride he'd not receive. Today those two seem to be heading in very
different directions, don't they? Maybe Marco should have taken that
Aprilia WSB ride...
Overall, it seems the Yamahas have lost nothing to the others in the
transition to long-running motors. Or maybe it's in large part that they
have, as the top factory now, been able to collect a group of top
riders. Too bad that Lorenzo is hurt, it would have been good to see
what he might have done this week, given that the math at Yamaha may
have materially changed in Rossi's favor. From a satellite perspective,
compared to Team Techsas, the fixation on 250 midgets (and the
Stoner-only career-killer Ducati) has left Honda and Ducati with Aoyama,
de Puniet, Kallio, Barbera, Espargaro, and it's a struggle to get too
excited about that group. That leaves Melandri, who should do better,
but he's not going to do more than the bike can, and then there's
Vermicelli, of course.
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>
> Rossi's iron grip on top position.
>
> Dovizioso faster than Pedrosa *again*.
>
> Edwards predictably effective.
>
> Spies continues to impress.
>
> Melandri behind some of the greenhorns... it'll probably be his last
> year in MotoGP.